Moving on.....

"Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future"

John F. Kennedy

This weekend the garden group forged on with two projects running side by side.  The first project is the upgrade and replanting of part of the memory garden and the other project is the kick start  to the path in the Jurassic garden.

The path edging is made of recycled plastic and is very flexible and we hope that we can achieve the ammonite shape easily by bending the plastic in an ever decreasing circle.  Time will tell as we get nearer the centre! The retaining posts for the edging are also made of recycled plastic.

In the memory garden the old dogwood which had taken over in the sensory grass bed has been removed and just the last few roots remain to be dug out. Already the flood of light onto the existing ornamental grasses has improved them and they are now standing up 'proud' and waving in the breeze.  Once the roots are all out a new membrane will be laid and new plants landscaped into position.

With the overgrown dogwood removed and the 'Santolina' severely trimmed back the existing sensory garden can be reclaimed and replanted.

Above the pond this afternoon at one time no less than 17 Migrant Hawker dragonflies were zipping about hunting for midges and small prey.

Migrant Hawker dragonfly resting on a cane

Also a spectacular Jersey Tiger - a day flying moth was seen.  Too quick for our cameraman but this picture from the internet.  A coastal species increasing in range in recent years

Often the hind wing is orange not red- the Jersey Tiger

We may have discovered our first 'cuckoo' bumble bee in the garden over the weekend.  This might be Barbutt's Cuckoo Bee but we need to delve deeper into the text books to confirm

It is hoped that next weekend we can forge ahead with the Jurassic garden path and also put some new plants in the sensory garden.

We have downloaded the weather station for July and the temperatures in the school garden for the middle of the month are very interesting. It was a month to remember!

As can be seen the temperatures peaked at just over 30C on the 25th and 26th July.

Finally an interesting migratory hoverfly was also seen over the weekend.  The Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria was spotted several times.

This formidable looking insect mimics the Hornet and the larvae live in wasps nests where they are tolerated.